Morning
Q: Jason Dunn got carted off the field last night. What happened?

DICK VERMEIL: “Muscle spasm in his back. He’s had ‘em before. This is the first time this year. He’s a lot better this morning. He’ll probably be ready to go by Saturday.”

Q: Derrick Johnson was in pads for the first time last night. How’d he do?

VERMEIL: “Looked very good. He flashes. No matter how much we screw him up he has the ability and you see it. It’s why we drafted him number one. It doesn’t look like he missed many practices.”

Q: Did Freddie Mitchell have his surgery yet?

VERMEIL: “He’s not going to go through surgery. He’s going to play without it. He’s flying back today.”

Q: Are you happy to hear that?

VERMEIL: “If he can do it and play without getting the cartilage worked on he doesn’t miss two weeks. So, that’s a plus.”

Q: What’s Butch Davis (former Cleveland coach) doing here?

VERMEIL: “I just invited him. He’s a fine, fine football coach and has a great background. Been on two Super Bowl teams with Jimmy Johnson in Dallas and has coached some great football teams at the University of Miami and a playoff team in Cleveland. We’re a small fraternity and we respect each other and I wanted to give our players the opportunity to share the experience. He did a great job talking to them.

Q: What was your message to the team coming into training camp?

VERMEIL: “I talk too much all the time. There really wasn’t one single message, really. I use different things and it isn’t just BS. I give it a lot of thought. Basically, they’ve got to take something that’s been outstanding and make it better, become what we have the ability to be on defense so that we can become a total football team. It’s got to come from them and our team leaders.”

Q: How are your special teams?

VERMEIL: “They’re going to be better. They’re going to have to. Special teams are a space game. You play so much of it in space in return teams and coverage. I think we have more athletes who can play in space in both blocking and tackling. Of course, we’ve got the best kick returner in the National Football League in Dante Hall. And, we work on it.”

Q: Are you going to build your roster a little more this year with an eye towards special teams?

VERMEIL: “Not any more than we normally do. We had a big serious meeting on special teams the other day and I think we’re short a couple of real corps special teams guys – and not from the obvious linebacker position. Someone will probably end up making this football team because they’re better on special teams than the position they play. I feel a little pressure there.”

Q: What about your punter and kicker?

VERMEIL: “We have the young punter and we have Nick (Murphy) here. The young punter (Colquitt) has had some spectacular days and he’s had some inconsistent days out here. The pre-season games will define how he’s going to punt under pressure. When you give up a high pick you’re optimistic that he can be successful.”

Q: With a week in do you feel like you’re where you want to be?

VERMEIL: “This is the fifth year in the offense and to watch them do what they do as efficiently as they do already gives you confidence. To watch the Willie Roaf’s of the world and those kinds of guys work like they work it gives you confidence. To watch Priest Holmes, to watch Larry (Johnson), watch Tony Gonzalez, it gives you confidence. To watch the young tackles where one is going to be on the right side gives you confidence.

“Defensively, we’re glaringly much further along from where we were last year at the same time. We’ve got more guys who can move. Then you put Derrick Johnson on the field last night and you don’t have to be an NFL football coach to recognize the kind of contribution he can make.”

Q: Is it safe to say that the offense might be a little behind the defense this year?

VERMEIL: “No, I don’t think so. Normally our offense is always ahead of the defense because we do so much the defense never gets to see the same thing two or three days in a row. They’re always catching up to the next shift, the next motion, the next reverse, the next screen. We don’t slow our offense down to accommodate the defense which hurts the defense in some way.”

Q: Has guys not working out or practicing on a consistent basis hurt the offense?

VERMEIL: “Well, it never helps you. A veteran can work less and still get ready to play because he knows the scheme and he’s been involved it. But the young kid when they miss it really hurts them.”

Q: Has Patrick Surtain been everything you thought he would be?

VERMEIL: “He’s real; he’s awfully good. He gets about a takeaway a day. He’s been very impressive with a tremendous work ethic. I look up at special teams as we’re working on kickoff returns and he’s covering the kickoffs. We brought him here because he’s a fine player and a fine young man. He’s got some leadership skills that will permeate how this defense plays.”

Q: Is Larry Johnson OK?

VERMEIL: “He got knocked around pretty good on our supposedly non-scrimmage goal-line practice. He delivered some blows this morning and is a little bit sore.. Priest has a head ache.”

Q: Any second thoughts in not working against the Vikings this year?

VERMEIL: “No. We’re fine. We don’t have to coordinate our practice with somebody else. We don’t get to compete against somebody else but we have the four pre-season games and that should be enough.”

Rain Man

08-03-2005, 12:03 PM

Q: Any second thoughts in not working against the Vikings this year?

VERMEIL: “No. We’re fine. We don’t have to coordinate our practice with somebody else. We don’t get to compete against somebody else but we have the four pre-season games and that should be enough.”

Translation: We won't have somebody get injured by a cheap shot.

DTLB58

08-03-2005, 12:38 PM

Q: What’s Butch Davis (former Cleveland coach) doing here?

VERMEIL: “I just invited him. He’s a fine, fine football coach and has a great background. Been on two Super Bowl teams with Jimmy Johnson in Dallas and has coached some great football teams at the University of Miami and a playoff team in Cleveland. We’re a small fraternity and we respect each other and I wanted to give our players the opportunity to share the experience. He did a great job talking to them.

WTF? Must be one of those guys like we have...good coordinator just not a good head coach.

Fire Me Boy!

08-03-2005, 12:46 PM

VERMEIL: “This is the fifth year in the offense and to watch them do what they do as efficiently as they do already gives you confidence. To watch the Willie Roaf’s of the world and those kinds of guys work like they work it gives you confidence. To watch Priest Holmes, to watch Larry (Johnson), watch Tony Gonzalez, it gives you confidence. To watch the young tackles where one is going to be on the right side gives you confidence."

:hmmm: Did he just put Larry Johnson in the same work-ethic category of Willie Roaf, Priest Holmes, and Tony Gonzalez?

the Talking Can

08-03-2005, 12:49 PM

Keep Butch away from our players!

Scaga

08-03-2005, 01:07 PM

:hmmm: Did he just put Larry Johnson in the same work-ethic category of Willie Roaf, Priest Holmes, and Tony Gonzalez?

Little bit of difference from "Diaper-Boy" from last year. :clap:

KChiefs1

08-03-2005, 01:19 PM

“Defensively, we’re glaringly much further along from where we were last year at the same time. We’ve got more guys who can move. Then you put Derrick Johnson on the field last night and you don’t have to be an NFL football coach to recognize the kind of contribution he can make.”

Looks like DJ is no Ryan Sims huh? :)

milkman

08-03-2005, 01:25 PM

Keep Butch away from our players!

Why?
It can't be any worse than having Guinta around them every day.

Tribal Warfare

08-03-2005, 01:43 PM

Butch Davis was a badass Defensive coordinator for Dallas in the 90's

RedThat

08-03-2005, 02:17 PM

Keep Butch away from our players!

Butch Davis was an outstanding Defensive Line coach for the Dallas Cowboys back in the early 90's. I'll take him over Bob Karmelowicz, and Carl Hairston any day of the week.

Cormac

08-03-2005, 02:19 PM

Butch Davis was an outstanding Defensive Line coach for the Dallas Cowboys back in the early 90's. I'll take him over Bob Karmelowicz, and Carl Hairston any day of the week.

Karmelowicz was a god around here several years ago, IIRC. Wasn't it he that had a bout with cancer? Anyway, I'm pretty sure he was our D-line coach back when we had good players too.....

penchief

08-03-2005, 04:47 PM

:hmmm: Did he just put Larry Johnson in the same work-ethic category of Willie Roaf, Priest Holmes, and Tony Gonzalez?

As far as I know, LJ has always been a hard worker. He's a striver, IMO.

chefsos

08-03-2005, 05:00 PM

Q: Has Patrick Surtain been everything you thought he would be?

VERMEIL: “He’s real; he’s awfully good. He gets about a takeaway a day.

Copy. Repeat 19 times. May pause after SB win. That is all.

beer bacon

08-03-2005, 05:03 PM

Q: Has Patrick Surtain been everything you thought he would be?

VERMEIL: “He’s real; he’s awfully good. He gets about a takeaway a day.